Apple to Unveil IPhone 5 on October 4

Apple plans to unveil the iPhone 5 on October 4, and sell it in stores a few weeks later.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s CEO Tim Cook will introduce the next iPhone, according to AllThingsD. Analysts speculate the phone may be made available as early as one week after it’s revealed.

Steve Jobs may be present at the event, but CEO Tim Cook and his executive team — Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall and Eddy Cue — will do all the talking. For Cook, a successful public announcement help the company assert its new leadership to the public.

Another key difference will be the venue for the event. The Moscone centre, where all the previous iPhones have been unveiled, is “booked out” for Oracle on that date.

The iPhone 5 will reportedly have an A5 processor, an 8-megapixel camera capable of 1080p video capture and a larger screen. Apple has not confirmed any specs on the device, and several reports have contradicted each other over the past several weeks.

Some analysts believe Apple will unveil two new devices, one that looks like the iPhone 4 called the iPhone 4S, and another with a completely different design and better hardware called the iPhone 5. Others think there will be just one new device, with minor updates.

Up to this point, Apple has succeeded in keeping everything about its next handset a secret, something that has become its trademark. Now, it’s almost time to for the company to tip its cards and reveal its hand, even if it’s doing it a little differently than usual.